Fresh Market primed to debut new Spartanburg store on Jan. 16

Published: Wednesday, January 2, 2013 at 10:48 a.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, January 2, 2013 at 10:48 a.m.

Greensboro, N.C.-based gourmet grocery chain The Fresh Market Inc. announced Monday it will open its expanded east-side store on Jan. 16.

The company is relocating its store at 141 Fernwood Drive to a sparkling new 19,000-square-foot building on the site of the former Converse Cinema 6 building at 1200 E. Main St. in the Converse Plaza shopping center.

It will feature amenities for shoppers, such as larger grocery aisles and a wider selection of grocery and dairy items, the company said.

"The Fresh Market deeply appreciates the long-term loyalty and relationships we have with our customers in the Spartanburg area," Craig Carlock, the company's president and CEO, said in a statement. "We are excited to provide a larger, enhanced and updated store that will better serve this thriving community."

The Fresh Market opened its first and only store at Fernwood Plaza in 1990. A year later, the center was purchased by local developer George Dean Johnson Jr. The site previously housed a Winn-Dixie grocery store and a Revco drug store.

Massachusetts-based firm Waterstone Retail Development acquired both shopping centers in December 2007, when the company purchased the retail portfolio of Spartanburg-based Johnson Development Associates.

The Fresh Market said the new space will have European-style fixtures framing the meat and seafood counters, enhanced lighting, a deli island with a vast assortment of prepared foods, an increased selection of organic items and larger floral, gift and bakery departments.

Its expanded grocery selections will include more convenience items, with the goal of helping customers complete their shopping at one store, the company said.

A grand opening will be held at 9 a.m. on Jan. 16, according to The Fresh Market. Customers are invited to take part in chef demonstrations, food samplings and drawings for gift cards. A sample-sized bag of gourmet coffee will be free to the first 1,000 customers and a reusable shopping bag for the first 3,000 customers.

The company said the store will continue to partner with the Spartanburg Soup Kitchen and The Haven shelter by providing regular donations of food.

<p>Greensboro, N.C.-based gourmet grocery chain The Fresh Market Inc. announced Monday it will open its expanded east-side store on Jan. 16.</p><p>The company is relocating its store at 141 Fernwood Drive to a sparkling new 19,000-square-foot building on the site of the former Converse Cinema 6 building at 1200 E. Main St. in the Converse Plaza shopping center.</p><p>It will feature amenities for shoppers, such as larger grocery aisles and a wider selection of grocery and dairy items, the company said.</p><p>"The Fresh Market deeply appreciates the long-term loyalty and relationships we have with our customers in the Spartanburg area," Craig Carlock, the company's president and CEO, said in a statement. "We are excited to provide a larger, enhanced and updated store that will better serve this thriving community."</p><p>The Fresh Market opened its first and only store at Fernwood Plaza in 1990. A year later, the center was purchased by local developer George Dean Johnson Jr. The site previously housed a Winn-Dixie grocery store and a Revco drug store.</p><p>Massachusetts-based firm Waterstone Retail Development acquired both shopping centers in December 2007, when the company purchased the retail portfolio of Spartanburg-based Johnson Development Associates.</p><p>The Fresh Market said the new space will have European-style fixtures framing the meat and seafood counters, enhanced lighting, a deli island with a vast assortment of prepared foods, an increased selection of organic items and larger floral, gift and bakery departments.</p><p>Its expanded grocery selections will include more convenience items, with the goal of helping customers complete their shopping at one store, the company said.</p><p>A grand opening will be held at 9 a.m. on Jan. 16, according to The Fresh Market. Customers are invited to take part in chef demonstrations, food samplings and drawings for gift cards. A sample-sized bag of gourmet coffee will be free to the first 1,000 customers and a reusable shopping bag for the first 3,000 customers.</p><p>The company said the store will continue to partner with the Spartanburg Soup Kitchen and The Haven shelter by providing regular donations of food.</p><p>For more information, visit www.thefreshmarket.com.</p>